FOREIGN LANGUAGES LEARNING PORTAL ARTICULATING THE INTERCULTURAL APPROACH WITH THE WEB BASED PARADIGM

The online educational portal for foreign languages learning addressing the cultural diversity represents the core of a Romanian academic research project, financed under the national Romanian research scheme. This project aims at increasing the social inclusion and mobility through plurilinguism and multicultural approach. The present contribution summarizes the concepts and the methodological approach of the project, aiming at increasing people’s adaptability to a multicultural environment in order to address the social inclusion, and to create the conditions for tolerance and harmony in the social life, by creating an educational network and a knowledge portal and adequate attitudes and abilities building.

The project develops a holistic approach structured on several phases: the design of a conceptual framework, the development of an educational model for the web based foreign languages learning and for the internalization of the cultural values, the implementation of the model in a virtual environment using an adequate pedagogical approach and complex tools.

The main innovation of the project consists in the design and implementation of the educational model based on Anderson and Krathwohl taxonomy, articulating various dimensions: foreign languages knowledge, communication, cultural approach, intercultural approach and organizational culture. In addition, specific web based paradigm and tools will be used for facilitating the online learning process and the accessibility of the beneficiaries.

The originality of this approach consists in the synergy among various views and models such as person-oriented education, multicultural approach, use of the virtual environment for providing educational services. The portal integrates educational packages for individual beneficiaries, virtual classes, formal or informal educational networks, and the tools for e-content developing. The educational platform offers the premise for building the empathic attitude, through a deep understanding of the own cultural matrix and a greater permeability to the behaviour and values of another cultural & organizational environment, increasing the degree of communication and integration at European level.